Image Contracting builds pole barns and does exterior remodels out of Harris, in Chisago County. Over twelve months the Google Ads account produced 101 tracked leads on $7,435 of spend, and organic clicks climbed 172% while average position moved from 48 to 26. On a job that averages about $200,000, the arithmetic on a $73.61 lead is not complicated.
Pole barn and exterior remodel work is the opposite of a volume business. Fewer searches, far more money behind each one, and a buyer who researches for weeks before calling anybody.
At a roughly $200,000 average job, the difference between eight leads a month and twelve is not incremental. It is the difference between a full build season and a thin one, which is why tracking which clicks turn into calls matters more here than almost anywhere.
Average organic position was 48 when we started. That is page five. Nobody goes to page five. Everything organic was effectively invisible, so every lead had to be paid for.
Harris has about a thousand people. The work comes from Chisago County, North Branch, Rush City, Pine City and well into the metro. A site that only said Harris would have been ranking for a market that cannot sustain the business.
A custom WordPress site, local SEO across the real service area, and a Google Ads account with conversion tracking wired up before any money moved.
Project galleries, build types, service area pages and a quote path. Somebody spending $200,000 needs to see finished work before they will pick up a phone.
Conversion tracking in place before spend started, so the $73.61 is a measured number rather than an estimate. Every phone call and form submission is attributed to the click that caused it.
Pages for the towns Image Contracting actually drives to, not just Harris. This is what moved average position from 48 to 26 and lifted organic clicks 172%.
Pole barns photographed properly, on site, after completion. In this trade the gallery is the sales pitch and a stock photo of somebody else's barn is worse than nothing.
Colder traffic, cheaper leads, useful for filling the gaps in a seasonal build calendar.
A build site is a billboard for months. Consistent branding on the trailer, the signage and the leave-behinds turns every job into local advertising.
The services behind this are on the Google Ads page, the local SEO page and the website design page. Trade-specific detail is on contractor marketing.
Every figure below came out of Image Contracting's own Google Ads and Search Console accounts. None of it is a portfolio total divided up afterwards.
| Metric | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Google Ads spend | Twelve months | $7,434.95 |
| Tracked conversions | Twelve months | 101 |
| Cost per tracked lead | Twelve months | $73.61 |
| Ad click-through rate | Twelve months | 3.45% |
| Paid clicks | Twelve months | 1,807 |
| Organic clicks | Year on year | Up 172% |
| Average organic position | From 48 | 26 |
| Average job value | Client figure | About $200,000 |
One thing worth being straight about: position 26 is still page three. The organic side improved a lot and it is not finished, which is why the ads are still running. The case studies page has the full list.
The results above came out of these packages. Ad spend is billed separately and goes straight to Google or Meta, so you always know what we are paid and what the platforms are paid.
One-time project. Most Minnesota small business sites land in here.
For a business with a decent site that needs the phone to ring.
Everything, including me on site with a camera twice a month.
Month to month, no contracts. For SEO we recommend giving it at least six months, because that is how long it takes to be worth judging. If you would rather commit to twelve months, two on-site photo and video shoots are included at no charge.
Every figure on these came out of that client's own account.
Organic clicks up 209% year on year, from 399 to 1,232, with average position improving from 39 to 19.
Read the case study Gym & fitness · North Branch, MNNo website at all to 860 organic clicks a year at an 18.4% click-through rate, and first place for gym searches in North Branch.
Read the case study The full listImage Irrigation at $55.52 a lead, Grizzly Concrete, Duck Duck Plumbing, Superior Drywall, VM Welding and the rest.
See all case studiesFor a trade where the average job is around $200,000, yes, comfortably. For a trade where the average job is $400 it would be terrible. Cost per lead only means something next to what a job is worth, which is why we publish both.
No, and we will not pretend otherwise. A tracked lead is a phone call or a form submission attributed to an ad click. How many of those became signed contracts is the client's number, not ours, and we do not have access to it.
Because position 26 is still page three. Organic went from invisible to improving, not from invisible to winning. When it gets to page one for the terms that matter, the ad budget can come down. Telling you to switch the ads off now would cost you a build season.
Months, not weeks. The 172% is year on year. Anyone promising page one in thirty days in a trade like this is guessing.
Not in the same service area, no. We will not run two competing accounts in one market and bid them against each other. Outside this corridor, yes.
The pricing section above shows the monthly plans. Ad spend is billed separately and goes straight to Google, so you always know what we are paid and what the platform is paid.
